


Let’s be Friends

by TomatoBookworm



Series: Friendships and Other Things [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, First fic in series that will be eventual romantic Fitzskimmons, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, This fic is focused on romantic Fitz/Skye, season 1 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23728573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoBookworm/pseuds/TomatoBookworm
Summary: Fitz and Skye bond. A friendship and something else develops.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Series: Friendships and Other Things [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709110
Comments: 14
Kudos: 44





	Let’s be Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic of a series that will eventually be romantic Fitz/Daisy/Jemma. This fic itself focuses on romantic Fitz/Skye getting together over the events around episode 1x06, FZZT. Fitz and Jemma are platonic best friends at this point in fic timeline. If this is not your cup of tea, please feel free to hit the back button!

Skye poked her head through the half opened door. 

“Knock, knock. Mind if I come in?”

Fitz looked up from where he was sitting cross-legged on his bed and almost fell over in his attempt to get up. “Come in! Come in my bed! I mean, come on my bed. No, come sit on my bed. You sit. I will stand.”

The bunks on the Bus weren’t big, and Fitz looked like he was about to trip over his own feet standing up. “Sit. Your bed is big enough for both of us.”

Fitz’s cheeks turned bright red, but he sat down again. A man who listened. After the disaster with Miles, someone who actually respected her words was a welcome change. His blush was adorable too. In another time, she might be tempted to see how far down the blush could extend, and he would clearly enjoy such an attempt. Fitz was too sweet and earnest for casual rebound sex though. Friendship, however, would be nice. 

Skye dropped herself down on the edge of his bed. It was big enough for two people to sit with an appropriate distance between them, not so close that he would get any romantic ideas about her intentions, and not so far that it was obvious she’s keeping an amicable barrier up. 

“I want to apologize to you personally, about Miles.” The speech didn’t get easier after multiple deliveries. “I screwed up, and I betrayed your trust. You don’t need to forgive me, but you deserve to hear it. I am sorry.”

Fitz nodded solemnly. “It’s alright. I accept your apology.” 

Skye blinked. Fitz didn’t seem to be the vindictive type, but she wasn’t expecting him to forgive her so easily. Ward had made his displeasure clear in silence. She hoped Fitz wasn’t the kind of man to overlook all sins while he had a crush on someone. 

“I understand.” Fitz waved his hands as though he knew what she was thinking. “He obviously meant a lot to you. Sometimes you just get so caught up in wanting someone else’s love and approval, that you would bend all the rules to get it.”

Whatever she expected, it wasn’t this. “Speaking from experience?” Skye asked cautiously. 

“My father.” Fitz’s shrug wasn’t quite as nonchalant as he aimed for. “He used to yell at me, said I was weak and stupid. Left when I was ten and I haven’t heard from him since. I know better now, but when I was younger, I would have done anything to make him stay.”

“Fitz, that’s horrible.” He was pretending he was no longer hurt and thus might not welcome a hug, so Skye settled for shifting closer and patting his hand. The words jumped out of her, unbidden. “I’ve always wanted parents, but I am glad you don’t have to deal with your father anymore.”

He frowned. “You wanted parents?”

“Grew up in the orphanage.” It was easy to look into Fitz’s sincere blue eyes, and she found herself baring a little bit of her soul. “Used to dream my real parents would come and take me away someday. I looked everywhere when I grew up, and the closest clue I found was a redacted S.H.I.E.L.D. file.”

“That’s why you are here?”

“Yeah.” The light in his eyes dimmed a little and Skye hurried to explain herself. “At least initially. I told Coulson. I am here because I want to know where I came from. But I am starting to see the value in what S.H.I.E.L.D. does too.”

“What, dealing with a pyromaniac?”

“No, trying to save someone from destroying themselves, and if that doesn’t work, protecting the innocents around them.” Skye shrugged. “I still don’t agree with all the big brother stuff, but I believe this team’s heart is in the right place.” She squeezed his hand lightly. “You are a good guy, Fitz.”

“Thanks.” Fitz looked down at her fingers covering his. To her surprise, he moved his hand away. “If you want any help with tracking down your parents, I can’t hack S.H.I.E.L.D., but I can see what else I can do?”

“Coulson already promised he would look into it,” Skye said. She waved her empty palm in a faux casual movement. “Don’t feel obligated to offer.”

“I want to help.” Pink tinted his ears and Fitz wrung his hands together. “As a friend. Not, not suggesting anything else since you just got out of a relationship and all.”

Oh. Fitz’s crush was painfully obvious to her. She didn’t even consider that he wouldn’t want to make a move when he knew she was single, all because he’s concerned for her emotional state. Suddenly, the earnest face took on an attraction she hadn’t appreciated before. 

“What if I want something other than friendship?” Skye challenged him and watched him swallow. Yup, she preferred men with a bit of scrubble, but those smooth cheeks looked very kissable as well. 

“You were betrayed too,” Fitz said. “By someone you trusted. That kind of hurt doesn’t heal overnight.” The certainty in his voice made Skye want to punch his old man. “When you feel better, maybe we can have dinner together sometime? Not on the Bus. Some place where we can talk, have good food, and take in the local scenery?”

“First date location, anywhere in the world. That’s a pretty bold move,” Skye teased. “No. Don’t take it back. The last guy I dated literally ruined the whole thing by deciding he knew what was good for us without consulting me. Do me a favor and respect that I can make my own judgment.”

Fitz looked simultaneously wary, terrified, and excited. He wetted his lips. “What do you want to do then?”

“For now, let’s be friends.” Skye wondered if his lips were as soft as they seemed, but she held herself back. “You deserve more than being a rebound guy, and I won’t start something with you always looking over your shoulder for the penny to drop. When the time is right though” —she gave in to impulse and leaned in to whisper in his ear— “we’ll see if I can come on this bed of yours.”

Fitz turned a deep red again and shifted his legs, but he looked her straight in the eyes. “Alright.”

  
  


* * *

Fitz was showing off a bit, and Skye liked it. He still blushed easily around her, but he forgot about being awkward when he talked about science. As much as she enjoyed his shy sweetness, confidence was a sexy look on him. His eyes shone when he presented his latest project with Simmons. She needed to say something before he realized she hadn’t been listening to his impromptu presentation at all and was ogling him instead. 

“You and Simmons are so tight, it’s like you have a psychic link.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Fitz said. He looked at her earnestly. “I mean, Simmons is my partner, and we know each other’s work very well, but we are friends. Best friends. Not like, well, you know.”

“Not like how you and I are friends?” 

They’ve spent a lot of time together since their talk in his bunk, talking about computers, books, childhoods, and everything in between. Skye could say they were friends without reservation now, but there was also an unspoken understanding between them. Every time when she caught him looking at her instead of the screen, every time when her hands brushed against his, there was the whisper that they might be something else, in time. 

Fitz scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah.” 

Skye was about to suggest they could have a friendly movie night later, preferably one of Fitz’s favorite scary films so she could have an excuse to hold his hand under a shared blanket and to steal his popcorn, when stupid Ward walked into the lab. Oh well. She could find the time to talk to Fitz later. 

* * *

Later came at a somber time. A man, a brave firefighter who had stepped up to help people during the Battle of New York, had died from some strange Chitauri virus. Skye sat down on the sofa, watching Fitz tinker with his electronics. 

Fitz paused his work and looked over at her. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Skye said. “Don’t stop on my account. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“It’s fine,” Fitz said. He offered her an apologetic smile. “I just get quiet when I am processing.”

Another surprising similarity. She could talk about her passions at great lengths, but when an emotional event striked too close to her heart, she had to shut down to protect herself. Skye shook her head. 

“Don’t apologize. We all had a long day. Watching a man die shouldn’t be easy.” She pointed at the gadget in his hand. “That’s the scanner you and Simmons were using on all the firefighters earlier?”

“Yeah, it detects unusual electrical currents,” Fitz said. “But by the time someone sets this off, it’s probably too late. Simmons is working on her samples in the lab now. Figured I can be useful here and try to increase the sensitivity to pick up warning signals earlier.” 

“Feel free to keep going,” Skye said. “Mind if I just sit here for the company?”

“You can always sit by me.” Fitz hesitated, then he patted the space next to him. 

Skye scooted closer. She didn’t lean on his shoulder since she didn’t want to interfere with his work, but they were close enough that she could smell his cologne and feel the body heat radiating from him. Both were soothing and fast becoming familiar. 

They sat together in comfortable silence. Skye watched as Fitz’s clever fingers maneuvered delicate machinery. She exhaled and let herself smile a little. 

“What is it?” Fitz turned to her. 

“I was going to ask you to a movie night date,” Skye said. “Friend date. Whatever we are calling it. Things didn’t pan out that way, but this is nice.”

“Yeah, it is.” 

Fitz’s smile was shy and brilliant. Skye wanted to lean in, to see if he would smile through a kiss. She almost did, right before the alarm blasted. 

  
  


* * *

Skye refused to wipe her eyes. It wasn’t time for crying yet, no matter what Simmons said. FitzSimmons were brilliant together, and they would find a cure. 

Coulson was visibly stressed. May’s pursed lips were thinner than usual. Ward looked like he was about to make an unpopular suggestion. Skye was ready to tell him to shove it. 

Another alarm sounded. The cargo bay door. Skye ran with everyone else. By the time she got there, Fitz was yelling wildly in the wind. 

“She jumped! The antiserum worked but she jumped! I couldn’t get the parachute on so Ward went after her.”

“Ward has the antiserum?” Coulson asked. 

Fitz nodded frantically. May looked at her own tablet. 

“There was a surge of electricity fifteen seconds ago.” May swiped at the screen and brought up the plane’s external camera feed. “No one blew up. Ward got Simmons in time. We need to extract them from the water now.”

“I will see what fishing boats are nearby,” Coulson said. He hit the switch to close the ramp door. “May, find the closest place to land. We will arrange the rescue.”

Coulson and May went upstairs. Skye sat down by Fitz, who had sunk to the floor. 

“You heard May, Simmons is okay,” Skye said gently. “She’s going to be fine.”

“She jumped,” Fitz repeated. “The bloody antiserum worked but she jumped!” His face was pale with fear. “I could have lost her.”

“But you didn’t,” Skye reminded him. “Simmons is alive.”

“Because Ward got to her in time.” The relief in Fitz’s voice was tinged with self-loathing. “I couldn’t get the stupid straps on the parachute. She would have died because of me.”

“No, she’s alive because of you.” Skye wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He was shaking. “You whipped up the delivery mechanism on the fly. You broke the quarantine to help Simmons find a cure. Heck, you have the antiserum ready so Ward could jump out with it. Fitz, you saved your best friend.” 

He turned towards her with an expression still of anguish. “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost her. We’ve been together for so long. She’s been beside me the whole damn time.”

“You will never have to find out,” Skye declared. 

Fitz buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed from relief. Skye’s other arm enveloped him, holding him in a tight embrace. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

  
  


* * *

Skye paused on the way back to her own bed. Simmons had walked out of the bunk next door. The pretty scientist was smiling. 

“You seem really happy for someone who jumped out of an airplane not too long ago.”

“I am alive, so I should be happy,” Simmons said. “The emotional aftermath will probably hit me later, but I am alright for now. I had to reassure Fitz, or else he would never stop worrying.”

“He was really worried about you.” Skye remembered how Fitz had shook in her arms. “I don’t think he‘s ever imagined living without you before.”

“Of course not, we are best friends,” Simmons stated as a simple matter of fact. “I can’t imagine living without him either.”

It sounded like a wonderful friendship, the kind Skye had never experienced and wished she had. It also sounded like it might be something else, if the parties involved were more self aware. 

Skye said goodnight to Simmons with her mind half occupied. Fitz wasn’t the kind of man who would pursue a romantic relationship when he knew he was in love with someone else. Platonic friendships exist. At the same time, Simmons was smart, beautiful, and a bright ray of sunshine. Skye herself could easily develop a crush on Simmons if she didn’t figure from day one that the prim and proper English woman would never go for a hacker in a van. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine that Fitz must have noticed his best friend was attractive at some point. 

She stopped in front of her bunk, not quite sure about what to do next. Fitz’s door was open and he saw her. 

“Skye? You alright?”

“I should be asking you that.” He was sitting on the bed with a pillow in his lap, and she wanted to cuddle up to him. Wow, okay. If she was far gone enough to think a man with a pillow was adorable, she definitely needed to set things straight before she led herself to heartache. 

Skye walked into Fitz’s bunk and closed the door behind her. The bed felt simultaneously larger and smaller than the last time she sat on it. 

Fitz looked at the small gap between them, perfectly acceptable distance between platonic friends and colleagues, certainly much wider space compared to what they’ve been used to. He raised his eyes with a frown. 

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Following one’s heart should never be wrong. “I just think we should talk.”

“Is this because of earlier?” Fitz asked. “If you think I was too emotional…”

“Fitz, you don’t have to worry about crying, not with me.” Skye reached out and held his hand. Romantic or platonic, Fitz needed reassurance. Processing fear and grief weren’t her strong suits, but she would never tell him that men couldn’t have tears. 

He squeezed back and they sat together for a moment, hand in hand. The crease between Fitz’s brows loosened, but he still looked worried. 

“I want to talk about Simmons,” Skye started. “I know you two are close, and obviously today’s been a life-altering experience. If it makes you reconsider some things, I’ll understand.”

“Reconsider what?”

“You know, us.” Except there was no us, not formally. “Whatever kind of friends we are.”

“What does Simmons have to do with us?” Fitz asked. “You already knew she’s my best friend.”

“I know, and I do believe in platonic relationships,” Skye said. “It’s just… can’t imagine living without someone, that’s a step above regular friendship.”

“Simmons is not a regular friend, she’s my best friend,” Fitz reiterated. “I won’t give her up for anyone, but you don’t have anything to worry about. It’s different between you and me.” 

“How?”

Fitz blushed. His hand was warm in hers. “You know.”

Maybe, but she needed to hear him say it. “Spell it out for me.”

“I want to kiss you, and sometimes I think you would kiss me back.” Fitz looked into her eyes. “Would you?”

Skye closed the distance between them. Fitz’s lips were as soft as they looked. His free arm went around her waist as he returned her kiss, gently at first and slowly growing bolder. She was surprised for a moment that Fitz didn’t taste more like chips and candy, then he did something interesting with his tongue and all thoughts fell away. 

She was sitting in his lap when coherency returned. They were still holding hands. Fitz’s smile was bright and a little dazed, as though he couldn’t believe she wasn’t a dream. Skye kissed him again. 

“That settles one question.”

“Question about what?”

“Whether you would smile through a kiss.” Skye traced his lips with a finger and watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “I was wondering about it earlier.”

Fitz looked like he was resisting the urge to suck her finger into his mouth. “What else have you wondered about?” 

“When would the right time be for us,” Skye said. “And how would we know. Well, I think we answered those questions too, don’t you?”

Fitz’s arm tightened around her. “Are you sure?”

“That I am over my lying ex and would like to date my very sweet, very cute friend who also turned out to be a fantastic kisser? Yeah, I am sure.” She paused. “Are you?”

“Yes,” Fitz said without hesitation. “Let’s go out for a date after we land.”

“Good.” Skye squeezed his hand before leaning in for another kiss. “And then we can answer the question of whether I can come on this bed.”


End file.
